Mulgrave Jr.

Invitational Swim Meet

Post Meet Report
By: Jolee Tung Jan 27, 2013

Key Personnel
Meet Manager:
Jolee Tung Mulgrave School Email: tungj@mulgrave.com

Head of Officials & Meet Referee:

Gail Nichols Swim BC Email: jandg@telus.net

Electronics Operator:
Michael Hutchinson BCSSA, Office Manager Email: office@bcsummerswimming.com

Entries Manager:
Rob Traynor Email: bchsswim@gmail.com

UBC Pool Contact:

Elena Fenske UBC Aquatic Center, Operations Coordinator Email: elena.fenske@ubc.ca

Panago Pizza Contact

Tariq Malik Kitsilano Panago, Manager Email: 1970tariq@gmail.com

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Breakdown of Attendees
School Mulgrave Collingwood Southpointe Southridge St. Georges Stratford Hall WPGA York House Head Coach James Gardiner jgardiner@mulgrave.com Rachel Pezim rachel.pezim@collingwood.org Jenny Slinn jenny.slinn@spacademy.ca Trisha Wray twray@southridge.bc.ca Neil Jones njones@stgeorges.bc.ca Sarah Scott Sarah.Scott@stratfordhall.ca Chris Read cread@wpga.ca Whitney Lum whitneylum87@gmail.com # of G3-4 swimmers 21 0 0 13 28 0 51 18 # of G5-7 swimmers 29 24 15 27 49 16 42 19

Actual Meet Schedule

Grades 3-4 (AM) Coaches meeting Officials meeting Warm-ups Session start Session finish 8:15 8:30 8:30 8:50 8:30 8:50 9:00 10:30 Grades 5-7 (PM) ------------------------10:30 10:50 11:00 1:30

The meet finished earlier than anticipated. This was surprising considering that the major concern throughout the entire planning process was the meet going overtime. This was what led to the all the changes to the meet format, etc.

Meet Format
This was a cardless A/B meet. All events were swum time-finals. A swimmers were defined as those who have participated on a swim team in the past. Events were mostly50m long, with the exception of the 100 IM race for G5-7 "A" swimmers. Disqualifications for rule infractions were in effect as per FINA rules. B swimmers were all those who were in their first year of competitive swimming. "B" events were shorter distances (see event list), and the category was more developmental in nature.

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G5-7A received full disqualifications, with DQ slips going to referee. G3-4A received warning slips, and they were given to coaches. All B swimmers did not receive anything, as many were not at the legal level yet The category that coaches enter swimmers in was left to their discretion. We hoped that this system allowed for a positive learning experience, and one that prepared kids as much as possible for ISEAs. It is recommended that the definitions of A and B swimmers be slightly modified. A swimmers should be all those at the legal level, while B swimmers should be those who are still working to that level. This way, it is possible that the warning system for 3-4A could be eliminated and replaced with full disqualification procedures. Similarly, all B swimmers could receive warnings, though it should be expected that lots of warning slips will need to be issued. Grade 3-4 swimmers entered a maximum of three (3) events total; Grade 5-7 swimmers were allowed a maximum of four (4) events. There were no limitations on how many swimmers a school could enter in a particular event. The rationale behind the lower amount of events for G3-4 swimmers was to save time, as it was anticipated that there would be more in this category. This proved to be false, based both on some schools only sending older swimmers, and the general proportion of the category. It is suggested that if the pool time restriction proves to be a problem, reducing G5-7 events would make a bigger impact.

Meet Rules
Official times were primarily determined using the OMEGA ARES 21 automatic judging and timing system. One OMEGA touchpad was be placed in each lane at deck level. In the instance of a light touch, plungers were used. There was no failure with the electronic system; so manual backup times from stopwatches were not used.All other rules regarding correct stroke, turn, start, etc, were as per FINA rules. Please see Paragraph 2 of the Volunteers subsection for recommendations to improve the accuracy of plungers.

Entry Procedure
Entries were either completed in a pre-formatted Excel spreadsheet or via HyTek. Swimmers were seeded according to their entry times, those entered without a time were seeded as NT and swam in earlier heats. Completed spreadsheets were to be emailed to Rob Traynor at bchsswim@gmail.com by Jan 14 at 18:00. The psych sheet and team entry lists were emailed out Jan. 16. Corrections deadline was Jan 18 @ 12:00. Heat sheets and the fee report were sent out on Jan 20. This entry procedure seemed to generally work well with the schools. Only one school submitted entries via HyTek. It was noted by a few coaches that the entry process took quite a long time, though that has Page 3 of 9

been the way for all other entries. There were also some errors found when looking through the original seed times. For example using a .. instead of a : changed entry time from 1:20 to 1.20. On recommendation would be to streamline the process to minimize these errors.

Scratches & Deck Entries

There were no refunds for scratches submitted after entry deadline. No deck entries were permitted due to the extremely tight meet schedule. All corrections made past the corrections deadline had to be submitted in paper to Michael Hutchinson on the morning of Jan 22.

Fees
The objective of the meet was to be revenue neutral. It should be pointed out that the fees were slightly higher than other swim meets in the past; however, this was due to UBC implementing a facility improvement fee per swimmer, on top of the normal pool rental costs. To keep in line with the number of events a swimmer can swim, the entry charge was $11 per person for Grade 3-4 swimmers; and $13 for Grade 5-7 swimmers. The facility improvement fee had already been added to this charge. Cheques were made payable to Mulgrave Athletics, however only some cheques were handed in at the coaches meeting on the day of. Remaining cheques were mailed in afterwards. This was mainly due to how late the fee report went out, and the time it takes for schools to process the payment. It is suggested that the fee report be sent out earlier so that it does not take as long to collect the payment. It should be noted that on top of the regular pool rental, there was an additional facility improvement fee of $2.50 per competitor. This used to be at $5, but after negotiations with UBC, it was reduced to $2.50. Negotiations with UBC will need to happen every year, to reduce the fee as much as possible. There was a significant profit at the end of the meet (see budget), due to an overestimation of expenses; this has been put towards funds for future swim meets. Should the expenses remain similar to this years, it is highly recommended that the entry fee per competitor is reduced.

Awards/Scoring
In order to promote performance and participation, schools only scored points based on their top 2 placings in individual and relay events. For example, if York House placed 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th only the 2nd and 5th place would be scored. This format was used for the ISA Championships in October 2012. Points per placing were as per the HyTek default. Ribbons were awarded to 1st through 8th place, and were immediately following the conclusion of the meet. Leftover ribbons were mailed out to schools afterwards. As well, Grand Aggregate medals were awarded to the highest scoring swimmer in each category (3-4 A, 3-4 B, 5-7 A and 5-7 B) Unfortunately, Page 4 of 9

Grand Aggregates could not be presented immediately as the point totals had not been calculated yet. The Top 3 scorers per category were recognized, however, only the top scorer received the medal, which was mailed out to the schools. Awards were from Kerrs Recognition, and cost just over $300. It is highly recommended that the swimmers still race in combined grades as it promotes competition and saves heats/time. However, it was noted by several coaches that the results shouldve been split back out in the end, as many of the swimmers were used to comparing themselves with others in their own grades. Essentially, many of the younger swimmers in their respective categories were unhappy with their lower placing because all the big kids beat them. This would allow for more people to ribbon, but it would also mean that a substantial higher amount of awards would be needed.

Facilities
The mid-section (8 x 25m) of UBC's indoor pool was used. 2 lanes in the deep end were rented additionally from 9:45-10:45am due to the higher than expected number of G5-7 swimmers. There was a mezzanine section on the second floor for spectator seating, and for swimmers who are not competing at the time. The shallow tank and hot tub remained off limits. Please see the attached Pool Layout for more information.

Equipment/Supplies
PA system high powered (750W) QLR speaker, rented from Long & McQuade for under $30 o Highly recommended because it wasused to announce the events being marshalled at the time, improved efficiency of marshaling, speaker came with stand o 2 Behringer microphones borrowed from the Theater Arts department at school, Chairs 30 plastic folding chairs rented from Lonsdale Events, total cost came to $40 o Not mandatory, but because UBC has an assorted type of chair, the rental generally made everything look neater because the same types of chairs could be lined up o 16 chairs were used to create the first 2 benches in marshalling Benches 6 were borrowed from the War Memorial Gym, 8 half benches originally at UBC were used for marshaling as well o Strongly encouraged to get these benches again because it allowed for the size of marshaling to increase, and made it much more organized Tables around 15-20 tables were found in the UBC classroom o 6 long plastic tables were used for coaches tables o 5 smaller wood desks were used at the clerk of the course, proved to be extremely helpful as it provided a natural barrier between the deck and marshalling o The remaining were either used in the hospitality room, or remained unused Stopwatches borrowed from PE department and Science department only 8 were used, but at least 2 extra stopwatches are still recommended Clipboards 24 clipboards were borrowed from the PE department and various teachers around the school Office supplies purchased from Staples, or borrowed from school Page 5 of 9

o Labels used for ribbons Avery 08160 Heat sheets 50 copies printed at school under teachers expenses, so no charge on the meet o If this is not possible in the future, it should be outsourced, to somewhere like Staples o Also many coaches had already printed them out themselves, so many there were about 25 copies leftover, originally it was thought that parents would purchase heat sheets, however, it was not promoted enough o In the future, to increase sales rates, it is highly suggested that heat sheets are sold in a more prominent area, and announce it on the PA system Boxes 8 boxes for ribbons (1 per school) were used, taken from recycling bins at school/home Drill & drill bits used for touchpads, size/type, unspecified, screws provided by UBC

Officials
There were seven qualified stroke and turn judges covering the 8 lanes, starter and referee position. Gail Nichols was appointed as the meet referee, and led the officials meeting. Gail Nichols meet referee Heather Stein - starter Herbert Tung deep end S&T Stephane Laroye deep end S&T Yvonne Platson shallow end S&T Linda Sullivan shallow end S&T Francis Tam shallow end S&T

Marshalling
12 benches were used for marshaling, double of what was originally planned. First 4 benches were for all events, benches 5-8 were for 25m events only, and benches 9-12 were for 50/100m events only. This worked phenomenally. There was lots of positive feedback regarding the well-organized marshaling. The high number of benches allowed swimmers to get ready to race a fair while ahead of time. It also minimized the effect of late swimmers, as they still had several benches to go. Finally, the groups of 4 benches allowed for an entire heat of relays to be seated at once. It is strongly recommended that this format be used again in subsequent years. The only suggestion would be to develop an alternate way to marshall 4x25 relays, as the bench per position, led to confusion and a delay in the meet. See diagram of pool layout for further detail in marshaling setup.

Hospitality
The coaches and officials room utilized the half classroom near the deep end of the pool. We were able to provide a pizza lunch from Panago Pizza to all coaches and officials. Kitsilano Panago (contact Tariq Malik) provided a 30% discount, waived the delivery cost and donated 500 Be Our Guest coupons.

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Light snacks and refreshments were donated by Mulgrave parents and were served on deck throughout the day. Please see the hospitality menu/items donated for specific details. It should be noted that a substantial amount of food was leftover, because it seemed that coaches and officials were not that hungry, or perhaps were too busy to eat! The student volunteers consumed much of the food and the rest was donated to volunteers, etc.

Volunteers
Although volunteer names were forwarded beforehand, they proved to not be very useful as there was no accountability on the day of. There was a small delay at the beginning of each session to get timers in their seats, and it is not sure how many were actually those that had signed up. It would be highly suggested to develop an alternate system to resolve this problem. As well, it should be highly noted that many of these timers did not know what they were doing/did not use the plunger accurately. This led to some unusual times in the results, and often a discrepancy between the touchpad and the plunger. A brief training session or something similar, for the timers would be strongly recommended.

Final Recommendations
Keep the same/already done well:
12 bench marshaling system, with clerk of course table barrier PA system speaker and microphone for courtesy calls Short heat intervals, prompt start and finish time Caliber of communication, particularly the detailed meet package Ability to finish and distribute ribbons at conclusion of meet

To improve:
Acquire more warmup space/time to alleviate the overcrowding Be considerate to date of meet, and what other ISEA events are going on Develop a better marshaling system for 4x25 relays Quick workshop for timers prior to meet commencement, to ensure that they are knowledgeable and in seats so that meet begins promptly Re-think meet format one big continuous sessions, all grades at once vs. split sessions Modify definitions of A and B swimmers to at legal level, full DQ and not quite there yet More conspicuous program sales area/better promotion to parents

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Event List
Grades 3-4 (AM)
Girls 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 18 Event 25 FR "B" 50 FR "A" 25 BK "B" 50 BK "A" 25 BR "B" 50 BR "A" 25 FLY "B" 50 FLY "A" 4x25 MIXED FR relay "B" 4x25 MIXED MED relay "A" Boys 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 17 18

Grades 5-7 (PM)

Girls 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 40 Event 100 IM "A" 50 FR "B" 50 FR "A" 50 BK "B" 50 BK "A" 50 BR "B" 50 BR "A" 50 FLY "B" 50 FLY "A" 4x50 MIXED FR relay "B" 4x50 MIXED MED relay "A" Boys 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 39 40

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Pool Layout/Detailed Marshalling

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